Future
Garden is a public art proposal for a 'garden' grown from computation,
in place of traditional botanical materials. Future Garden was developed
as a permanent outdoor installation as part of the Federation
Square precinct in Melbourne, Australia.

The future
garden is an interactive digital organism: an electronic garden of artificial
life reminiscent of nature in its behavior and interaction, but distinctly
electronic in its form and appearance. The project was developed by Jon
McCormack, in collaboration with Federation Square project architects,
Lab + Bates Smart.

The
work physically, consists of three elements embedded in, and rising out
of the floor. Underneath glass is a lattice of thousands of Light Emitting
Diodes or LEDs. Each LED emits a pure colour of light, but by mixing
different colours, many different hues are possible. The LEDs are controlled
by a complex computer program developed for the project. The program is
based on biologically inspired techniques that simulate growth and diffusion.
In some sense, the garden is a strange reflection of the sea creatures that
inhabited the site some 20,000 years ago  not in terms of their shape
or form  but in terms of process. The work goes beyond simple
mimicry, however. Over time, it will evolve and change. Visitors returning
will notice seasonal changes that coincide with ambient environmental conditions,
both short and long term.

ARTWORK
AS GARDEN

Future Garden
is a garden, but its not what we would traditionally understand a garden
to be. It replaces plants, soil, rocks and so on with computation, information
and light.

Historically,
gardens have served many different functions, from being a health care
resource to places of contemplation and wonder. But in some way, gardens
have always been about our arrangement, control and understanding of nature.

"In
developing this project I asked the question 'what would a garden that
takes into account new ideas about nature and life be like?'. This project
is the result. I wanted to create a garden that reflects a new, more process
oriented vision of nature, and also one that connects us with the technology
that is increasingly being incorporated into our lives and our own nature."
 Jon McCormack.

CELLULAR
AUTOMATA (CA)

The patterns
displayed by future garden are generated using a technique called cellular
automata. In a cellular automata simulation, a surface area is represented
as a lattice of cells. Each cell on the lattice has an individual state.
The state of a cell is visualised by the colour and brightness of the
LED. (one LED is equivalent to one cell). At discrete time intervals,
each cell looks at the state of its immediate eight neighbours. The cell
takes on a new state based on the state of its neighbours. This process
is repeated for all the cells on the lattice. Over time, complex patterns
and behaviors emerge. In a way analogous to, for example, biological cells
forming complex organs, simple rules form complex patterns and interactive
behaviors.

INTERACTION

Future Garden
is an interactive artwork. You can touch the glass surfaces and the states
of cells will be effected by this act of touching. Only local cell states
are stimulated, but due to the complex emergent properties of the system,
over time the reaction and interaction will effect the entire surface.
In addition to this proximity reaction, the artwork also responds to local
environmental conditions such as temperature and light. All adding to
the visceral experience of the artwork as a lifeform.

PROJECT
STATUS

Future Garden
is currently 'on-hold' pending external sponsorship. If you are interested
in sponsoring the project please contact
the artist.